{"id":106116,"date":"2025-08-20T18:56:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T22:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=106116"},"modified":"2025-08-20T18:56:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T22:56:19","slug":"astros-rotation-boost-two-key-starters-returning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/08\/20\/astros-rotation-boost-two-key-starters-returning\/","title":{"rendered":"Astros Rotation Gets Major Boost with Two Key Starters Returning"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After a successful rehab start with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, Houston Astros starter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcculla02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-20_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lance McCullers Jr.<\/a> has returned to the big league team. McCullers will make his first start back with Houston on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles. He missed time with a finger blister injury that forced the Astros to place him on the injured list back on July 20. Starter <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/francjp01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-20_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">J.P. France<\/a> is also back on the big league roster, so the Astros&#8217; rotation should get an important boost down the stretch.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_60833\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-60833\" style=\"width: 520px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-60833\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/USATSI_21195253-300x188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"326\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/USATSI_21195253-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/USATSI_21195253-1024x642.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/USATSI_21195253-768x481.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/USATSI_21195253-1536x963.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/USATSI_21195253-2048x1284.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-60833\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aug 12, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher J.P. France (68) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Astros Getting Two Key Starters Back in Rotation<\/h2>\n<h3>How LMJ\u2019s Rehab Went<\/h3>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/lance-mccullers-jr-makes-rehab-start-for-triple-a-sugar-land\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">McCullers<\/a> went five innings on 80 pitches last Friday with Sugar Land and gave up only one earned run on four hits, along with five strikeouts. That one appearance was good enough for the Astros management to bring him back.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It has been a rough year for LMJ so far, as this was his second injury recovery this season. The Astros placed McCullers on the 15-day IL with a right foot sprain on June 16 and activated him 12 days later. The 31-year-old has a 2-4 record along with a 6.90 ERA in his 11 starts with the Astros this year. McCullers has not gotten past three innings in his last two big league starts, while his WHIP is at 1.737.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Lance McCullers, Jr will start Friday against Baltimore.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Julia Morales (@JuliaMorales) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JuliaMorales\/status\/1957904951104909352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Rehab is nothing new for McCullers, having dealt with his fair share of setbacks throughout his career. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/05\/01\/lance-mccullers-jr-returns-astros-2025\/\" target=\"_self\">LMJ made his first start<\/a> since the 2022 World Series in May, after multiple flexor tendon injuries sidelined him for most of the 2022 regular season and all of 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n<p>After a strong rehab outing, McCullers will now look to start afresh on Friday.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Astros&#8217; starting rotation continues to gain depth and health, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/j\/javiecr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-20_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cristian Javier<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/arrigsp01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-20_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spencer Arrighetti<\/a> have already made a couple of starts.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>France Returns<\/h3>\n<p>Additionally, France is now back on the major league active roster. He officially rejoined the Astros after completing his <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonchronicle.com\/sports\/astros\/article\/jp-france-rehab-assignment-ends-20825923.php\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rehab assignment<\/a> from right shoulder surgery last year. In his final start with the Space Cowboys last Thursday, France went four innings on 77 pitches and allowed three runs on three hits, along with seven strikeouts.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The righty has started three games for Sugar Land in August, as he ramped up his recovery and reached 93 mph on his fastball last week. While he struggled in his first start back on Aug. 2 with four earned runs in two innings, France bounced back on Aug. 8 by pitching 3 2\/3 innings and giving up two runs.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Astros have officially returned RHP J.P. France (right shoulder surgery) from his rehab assignment, per the team<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/michaelschwab13\/status\/1958178261835415761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>France came to prominence with the Astros in 2023 and delivered an incredible stretch of success in the regular season. He went 11-6 that year with a 3.83 ERA in 136 1\/3 innings and 101 strikeouts, giving the injury-hit team a big boost.<\/p>\n<p>France battled shoulder inflammation the following offseason and made <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/08\/19\/astros-luis-garcia-out-for-season\/\" target=\"_self\">only five starts<\/a> in 2024, struggling to a 7.46 ERA before undergoing surgery for a torn right shoulder capsule. That procedure ended his season. After more than a year of recovery and rehab, the Astros will look for him to take the next step.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Astros Rotation Gets Healthier<\/h3>\n<p>This is much-needed good news for the Astros, as the starting pitching has been very inconsistent. With Houston already having a deep rotation, it is quite possible that France could be sent to the bullpen to help out with their thin depth after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/haderjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-20_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Hader<\/a>\u2019s shoulder capsule <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/08\/18\/josh-hader-latest-injury-impact-astros\/\" target=\"_self\">injury<\/a>. The impending return of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/garcilu05.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luis Garcia<\/a> can also give the Astros more flexibility, adding another option for both the rotation and the bullpen.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a successful rehab start with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, Houston Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. has returned to the big league team. McCullers will make his first start back with Houston on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles. He missed time with a finger blister injury that forced the Astros to place him on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5612,"featured_media":99873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,926,1071,35],"tags":[28622,6446,3912,3445,28504],"class_list":["post-106116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-astros","category-milb","category-mlb","category-news","tag-cristian-javier","tag-j-p-france","tag-lance-mccullers-jr","tag-luis-garcia","tag-spencer-arrighetti"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5612"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106116"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106126,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106116\/revisions\/106126"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}